USS Indianapolis Lost At Sea

USS Indianapolis CA-35

Lost At Sea

George Stanley ABBOTT

Name: George Stanley ABBOTT

Rank / Rating: S1-Seaman First Class
Service #: 867 37 56
DOB: Sep 11, 1924
From: Bedford, KY
Parents: George Wilbur and Vada Blanche (Wise) Abbott
Went Aboard: Sep 01, 1943
Age When Ship Went Down: 20 years, 10 months, 19 days
Spouse:
Children:
Grandchildren:
Bio Submitted By: Felton J Outland S1/c Survivor and edited by Patricia Stephens (Admin)
Date Posted:

George Stanley ABBOTT, S1-Seaman First Class

ABBOTT, George S

George was born Sept 11, 1924 in Bedford, Trammel Co., KY. He was the second child born to George Wilbur and Vada Blanche Wise Abbott. The 1940 census for Bedford, KY, shows George with his parents and siblings Anna Lois, W. R., Leslie and Graham. His father was the postmaster of Bedford. Another brother, Bennie, would be born after 1940. George was known as "Stan", to friends and family in Trimble Co. He registered for the draft on Dec 21, 1942.

George enlisted in the Navy at age 18 on May 24, 1943, at the naval recruiting station in Louisville, KY. After basic training in Great Lakes, IL, he was advanced from AS (Apprentice Seaman) to S2c (Seaman 2nd class) and was transferred to the Receiving Station, Shoemaker, CA where he arrived on Aug 11, 1943. He then transferred to the distribution center at Pleasanton, CA. He received orders and reported aboard USS Indianapolis CA-35 on Sept 1, 1943, at Mare Island, CA where the ship was in port for refitting. In six days, George would leave the US on his first trip to sea. Indy was bound for Pearl Harbor, T.H. On Sept 21, 1943, George was transferred off Indy at Pearl Harbor for further training at the Anti-aircraft Training Center in Waianae, Oahu, T.H. After completion, he came back aboard on Oct 2, 1943. Most likely, he was assigned to the 5th division that operated the 40mm anti-aircraft guns. George faced his first combat action when Indy left Pearl Harbor on Nov 10th bound for the Gilbert Islands and "Operation Galvanic" against Tarawa and Makin islands. Indianapolis returned to Mare Island, CA on Jan 1, 1944 where she stayed only long enough to embark officers and passengers for transport to Pearl Harbor where she arrived on Jan 7th. She departed the harbor bound for the Marshall Islands to aid in the actions against Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls in late January. In February, she was in action at Eniwetok Atoll. Steaming to the Western Carolinas, Indy took part in the raids on Palau, Yap, Ulithi and Woleai. On April 10th Indy left Majuro for Pearl Harbor and on April 22nd she arrived back in San Francisco, CA and on to Mare Island for overhaul. Before steaming back to the Pacific, George was advanced to S1c on May 1st. From June to Oct 14, 1944, Indy took part in the capture and occupation of Saipan, Battle of the Philippine Sea, the capture and occupation of Guam, the capture and occupation of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands, then to the Western Carolina Island Operation for the capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands. George was back in the US on Oct 29, 1944 when Indy arrived at Mare Island, CA for overhaul following her long Pacific service. He would spend Christmas and New Years on dry ground and likely was granted leave before Indy departed on Jan 14, 1945. George arrived with his ship on Feb 14, 1945 for the operations at Iwo Jima which included raids against Honshu and the Nansei Shoto as well as the occupation of Iwo Jima. It was during this operation on Mar 31st that Indianapolis was hit by a Japanese kamikaze plane. Nine men were killed and 20 injured. Indy returned to Mare Island, CA, for repairs, where she would remain for two-and-a-half months. During this time George was granted a 15-day leave. He returned home to visit his family. George returned to Mare Island where he and his shipmates prepared for their next mission, a top-secret voyage to the island of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands. On July 6, he sent a telegram to his father requesting that $30 be sent to him before the ship was scheduled to depart. The telegram read, "Leaving soon, Dad. Have a few more liberties. Want to make the best of them", according to a blog by Chief Rick Stone. Indianapolis departed Tinian and after a short stop at Apra Habor, Guam, she sailed on July 27 to Leyte, her final destination. Half-way there, Indy was struck by two torpedoes from Japanese submarine I-58 and sank in 12 minutes. After George's death, Felton J. Outlander, a survivor of the sinking, wrote a letter to George's parents informing them, "We were both on the fifth directory and worked on the same 40mm gun mount for about six to eight months. He was one of the finest friends I had on the ship. We had the 12-4 a.m. watch. George had the starboard side and I had the port." Later, Outland told the full story. "My Hero. On July 30, 1945, George Abbott from KY and I went on our midnight watch. I had put on my headphones and we were just beginning our duty when we heard an explosion. The ship shook terribly. We were on 40mm guns by the aft stack. After the explosion I could not make any contact on the phone. We tried for a minute or so and I told George to go look for lifejackets. Remember, it was very very dark. George came back with one lifejacket, one life jacket, saying it did not look good. I still had no word on the phone. At that point the ship was listing to starboard. George gave me the one lifejacket and said he was going to look for another one and I never saw George again." Another of George's friends and shipmate, Robert Shaffer, wrote a letter to George's parents in 1946, long after the Navy had given up the Trimble lad as lost at sea. Robert, George and another friend, Stuart D. Whalen, had all been floating in the water in the same group after their ship went down. "I am grieved to tell you that I know George is dead," Robert wrote. "I saw him and Whalen both die on the third day after we were shipwrecked. We were all just floating around in life jackets in the oil slick and scum." Robert estimated the group had been adrift for 30 miles. George and Stuart "died from exhaustion and exposure. I saw (George) die. He just gave out. He couldn't make it any longer. I think he was not suffering. He just went to sleep and never woke up and so did Stuart." A beautiful granite cenotaph that contains a photo of George was placed in the Bedford Cemetery, Bedford, Trimble Co., KY The following information documents the details related to George Abbott having been "Buried at Sea" along with 12 other crew members: All of these 879 men plus 9 others who also lost their lives at sea as a direct outcome of a March 31, 1945 Kamikaze attack in Okinawa, have been recorded as having been "Lost at Sea" (LAS) while aboard USS Indianapolis (CA-35) in 1945. Seventy-six years after the ship's sinking (in 2021), a thorough investigation of available historic records culminated in the identification of thirteen (13) sailors on that fateful last voyage whose names were subsequently placed on an "Accounted For" list. George Stanley Abbott was one of these thirteen (13) sailors who was "Buried At Sea". The Chief Rick Stone and Family Charitable Foundation researchers "poured through dozens of books and articles published on the sinking of USS Indianapolis, analyzed all of the seven recovery ship's Deck Logs, recovery ship's War Diaries, and the recovery ship's commanding officer's After Action Reports. In addition, Foundation investigators obtained the 'Individual Deceased Personnel Files and other documents from the National Archives to determine possible biometric matches to unknown sailors recovered at the sinking site." (1) While each of these 13 sailors lost their lives at sea, they were each "Buried at Sea". The 13 men, who by clear and convincing evidence gathered at the time of the Rescue and Recovery process, resulted in their being "Buried at Sea" are: George Stanley Abbott, S1- Seaman First Class Eugene Clifford Batson, S2- Seaman Second Class William Alexander Haynes, S1- Seaman First Class Albert Raymond Kelly, S2- Seaman Second Class Albert Davis Lundgren, S1- Seaman First Class Ollie McHone, F1- Fireman First Class George David Payne, S2- Seaman Second Class Alvin Wilder Rahn, SK3- Storekeeper Third Class Jose Antonio Saenz, SC3- Ship's Cook Third Class Joseph Mason Strain, S2- Seaman Second Class Angelo Anthony Sudano, SSML3- Ship's Service Man (Laundryman) Third Class Floyd Ralph Wolfe, GM3- Gunner's Mate Third Class Charles Byrd Sparks, COX- Coxswain Burial at Sea On August 5, 1945, George's body was recovered by the crew of USS Helm DD-388. George was identified by the initials stamped on his clothing. It not being possible to bring George aboard for the official Burial at Sea Ceremony, he was reverently placed in a sea bag, weighted with two 5" shells and "committed to the deep" by his fellow seamen at approximately Lat. 11 degrees 26' N, Long. 132 degrees 37' E.

Source Credits

Murphy, Mary Lou, (Ed.), (2008). Lost At Sea But Not Forgotten by USS Indianapolis Families. Printing Partners, Indianapolis, IN. (Copyright 2025 by Project888.org, granted from Mary Lou Murphy and Printing Partners). The Chief Rick Stone and Family Charitable Foundation, USS Indianapolis Burial at Sea Project. Online at ChiefRickStone.com, 2025 State of Indiana, State Board of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, Madison, Jefferson Co; Certificate of Birth #13261; citing Anna Lois Abbott d/o Wilbur Abbott and Vada Wise Abbott. The Trimble Banner, (KY), April 13, 2011 (online); The Stanley Abbott Story. The last Trimble Co. casualty of WWII. Chief Rick Stone, Podcast, Episode 72. Navy Department, Casualty Section, Office of Public Information (1946): Combat Connected Naval Casualties, WWII, by States; Vol. AL-MO; KY, p. 1; citing George Stanley Abbott, Bedford, KY. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22338134/george_stanley-abbott: accessed August 1, 2025), memorial page for S1 George Stanley Abbott (11 Sep 1924-30 Jul 1945), Find a Grave Memorial ID 22338134, citing Bedford Cemetery, Bedford, Trimble County, KY.

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